Russian army improves tactical position next to Svatovo district settlement

Russian army units have improved their tactical position near the Sverdlovka village in the Svatovo district over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

“On the Kupyansk axis, Task Force "West" troops, supported by aircraft and artillery improved their tactical position in the Sverdlovka settlement area in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the report said. In the Sergeyevka settlement area (LPR), Russian forces repelled two counterattacks by the Ukrainian army’s 95th Air Assault Brigade. Enemy losses over the past 24 hours amounted up to 40 servicemen, two vehicles, one US-made M109 Paladin artillery piece and one D-30 howitzer.

On the Krasny Liman axis, Task Force "Center" units, aircraft and artillery repelled two attacks by assault groups of Ukraine’s 12th Special Operations Brigade and 63rd Mechanized Brigade in the areas of Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Serebryanka Forestry. Up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, one "Gvozdika" self-propelled howitzer and one D-30 howitzer were eliminated.

Over the past 24 hours, air defense units shot down or suppressed 17 Ukrainian drones in the areas of Makeyevka, Novonikolskoye and Melovatka (LPR), Beresotvoye (DPR), Pshenichnoye and Semyonovka in the Zaporozhye region, Olshana in the Kharkov region and Krynki in the Kherson region, the Defense Ministry said.

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The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.

President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation on February 24, 2022 to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.*i*sb